career path – BaylorS3E

S3 Board Member Spotlight: Kelly Cheeseman, AEG Worldwide

kirk_wakefield About S3, Careers, Lead, S3, S3 Spotlight, The S3 Program, Work ethic February 10, 2013November 2, 2018advice, AEG, career path, good mentors, LA Kings, mentors, NHL, sales careers, Success, work ethic 1 Comment

by Jerry Ruiz – February 2013

Congratulations to S3 Board Members in their new positions: Kelly Cheeseman, Chief Operating Officer of AEG Worldwide, and Chris McGowan, President of the Portland Trailblazers.

This is a story about the value of good mentors.

Kelly Cheeseman started his career as the Manager of Marketing at Rancho Cucamonga Quakes before coming to the LA Kings/AEG in 2001 as an Account Executive in ticket sales. In short order, Kelly advanced to Senior Sales Executive and then to the Manager of Ticket Sales. By 2005, Kelly was the Director of Sales & Service. Three years later, he was promoted to Vice President, Sales & Service, followed by a move up to Senior Vice President in 2012. When Chris McGowan left the COO position at AEG Worldwide to become the President & CEO of the Portland Trailblazers, Kelly was, as always, prepared to step in.

“Kelly has the best work ethic of any sports executive I have ever seen,” said Chris McGowan. From his experience, beginning in 1996 at AEG, McGowan sees the COO position at AEG as a true privilege. Having worked alongside Cheeseman for over a decade, Chris said what’s obvious to everyone is that, “Kelly is extremely passionate about the sports industry and dedicates a lot of time and energy into learning every aspect of the business.” Kelly would say he’s been helped by seeing it modeled by his mentor, Chris McGowan.

Giving back

In turn, Kelly has always taken the time to mentor others. Two graduates of the inaugural Baylor S3 class in 2006, Todd Pollock and Brett Christenson, began in ticket sales at the LA Kings/AEG. Cheeseman took the two under his wings and helped them get off to a good start within the industry.

“Kelly has been a great mentor. Aside from his knowledge and business-savvy mentality, he has always been a great leader with his staff, whom he cares about greatly. His willingness to develop skill sets and train his staff makes him one of the best executives in the sports world today,” said Pollock, currently General Manager of Sales & Service at Temple University.

Under Cheeseman’s mentorship, Pollock moved from inside sales to account executive to Manager of Sales & Service for the LA Kings in less than two years, before becoming Manager, Ticketing & Suites, at the San Francisco 49ers. Cheeseman, like his mentor McGowan, share the qualities of all good mentors.

Christenson landed at FC Dallas in corporate sales, before completing his MBA and moving into corporate business intelligence and database analytics.

[dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”lifted-bottom-right” width=”250px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Qualities of Good Mentors:

genuine concern for your best interest
willingness to share what they know to help you get ahead
willingness to be available to you when you need help—not just at their convenience
ability to identify your needs or deficiencies and to develop strategies for overcoming such obstacles to your success
respectfulness, trustworthiness, honesty and supportiveness

Source: Achieve Solutions [/dropshadowbox]

Learned along the way

Looking back at his career, the biggest challenges came during the two NHL work stoppage. Facing such obstacles out of your control, Cheeseman says, “will truly test your ability to maintain good relationships with customers and challenge your mental strength.”

When asked about some of the best career tips he’s ever received, Cheeseman recalled words shared by McGowan that stuck with him:

Hard work can never be beat.
There are no shortcuts.
Always look for ways to be innovative.
Don’t get stuck in a rut.

What is Cheeseman’s advice to others wanting to succeed in sales management in this business?

Hire a great team properly organized to work together. Focus on the structure.
Develop a measurable business plan you can review against key performance indicators.
Hire an analytics team to support your staff.

Of course, it always helps to have a positive mindset. “Clients and co-workers really enjoy working with Kelly because he has a great personality,” McGowan added.

Thanks

The students in the Baylor S3 program look forward to continued success stories from those fortunate enough to work with Mr. Cheeseman and Mr. McGowan. Thanks for giving back!

S3 Alumni Spotlight: Taylor Bergstrom, Texas Rangers

kirk_wakefield About S3, Careers, S3, S3 Spotlight, Sell, Tickets, Work ethic February 10, 2013November 2, 2018account executive, career path, cross-sell, phone sales, referrals, revenue, Sales, selling, sportsbiz, Texas Rangers 0 Comment

by Jennifer Macintyre – February 2013

The Texas Rangers take staff to playoff and World Series games. Above, at the 2011 World Series: Elisa Bergstrom (wife), Taylor Bergstrom, Kevin Kimball (lucky friend), and Matt Bergstrom (brother).

Motivation to sell

What drives a top sales rep like Taylor Bergstrom as a Senior Account Executive for the Texas Rangers?

“Seeing my name at the top of the Big Board sales chart is extremely rewarding to me because it shows my hard work pays off,” explained Bergstrom. Taylor’s competitiveness motivates his day-to-day work ethic, but as rewarding is meeting clients at games and seeing them enjoy experiences at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Taylor has always had a strong competitive spirit to win. Brayson Burchfiel, Taylor’s roommate for three years in Dallas, explains,

“From the times playing golf with Taylor, every little detail about the game keeps him engaged. Even if he hits a good shot but not quite up to his expectations, Taylor will look for ways to improve on the next hole. I think this same concept can be applied to his professional life and the successes he’s had with the Rangers. Taylor will do what it takes to beat his competition, and in this case, his competition is to win against the other members on his sales team. He will look for the competitive advantage to do just that.”

Taylor’s managers have appreciated watching him grow to be one of the top salespeople at the Rangers. “I’ve worked alongside Taylor for over six years. He has always gone well above and beyond the call of duty,” explained Jason Fortune, Season Ticket Sales Manager at the Texas Rangers. “He provides superior customer service to all of his accounts while consistently being one of the top generators in new business revenue. Taylor takes pride in all aspects of his job and always displays great character and a team first attitude.”

Career path of a sports sales executive

A native of nearby Carrolton, Taylor’s preparation as a major in Baylor’s Sports Sponsorship & Sales (2007) program provided the opportunity to work with his hometown Texas Rangers straight out of college. After spending one year in inside sales, Taylor was promoted to an outside sales position serving corporate clients from the Rangers’ corporate office in Dallas.

In 2010, Nolan Ryan took over the team and all sales offices returned to the Ballpark. There, Taylor was promoted to a Full Service Season Ticket Sales position. Then in March 2012, Taylor was promoted to his current job of Senior Account Executive, which includes premium suite sales. One of Taylor’s goals is to eventually be able to share and mentor other young salespeople as a manager.

Learned along the way

When asked about the keys to successful selling, Taylor offered four great tips:

Concentrate on doubling revenue on each of your accounts. In other words, focus on turning each small account into a bigger one.
Ask for referrals. Closing rates increase with a referral to qualified, interested prospects.
Cross-sell. Cross-selling helps clients who may have originally bought for company events also find ticket packages and other events to meet additional needs. Conversely, season ticket holders may be interested in group outings or other events.
Pick up the phone. Making more phone calls always gives you more chances. It’s like they say, “Selling is a contact sport. It takes contact to make sales.”